


Taking Flight

by rae_aaah



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Ancients AU, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 08:17:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17422244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rae_aaah/pseuds/rae_aaah
Summary: There's something that's keeping Keith back and Lance is the one that knows how to pull it out of him.





	Taking Flight

**Author's Note:**

> [OKAY, JUST. HEAR ME OUT.](http://taytei.tumblr.com/post/181941597486/ancient-au-stuff)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> I MEAN I COULDNT JUST NOT.

Keith shifts his shoulders, rolling them in a tight circle. His wings are growing and he's been miserable for weeks. No amount of the salve that Shiro suggested helps. No amount of quiet meditation he does with Hunk helps. Not even Pidge's strange contraptions that stretch him to kingdom come helps. Nothing does.

He's ready to just pull them right out of his back in agonized frustration.

"Come on, this might be nature's way of telling you that it's time."

Keith cuts his eyes to Lance lounging on the sand. His tail is half-in, half-out on the water and it's flipping every so often, swirling the seawater around. He's a long, cool-colored line against the sand and Keith lets his eyes wander a little too much.

Lance slaps his tail and flicks hard, making water splash up on to Keith.

"What the hell, Lance?" He gripes, wiping the water off his arm.

"You're not paying attention to me," he says and rolls closer, white flecks sticking to his scales and skin and falling off as he moves. He smirks. "Well, not in the way that I want you to. Did you hear me?” he asks.

Keith stretches out his legs, pushing at the sand with his feet and burying them deep. It's warm and gritty and gets between his toes. He looks down between his knees, then lifts his head and stares at the shore. "What if I can't?"

"Whaddu'mean?" Lance questions, rolling rolling rolling until he's shoved next to Keith's hip, keeps shoving with his body until he crawls half into Keith's lap.

"Like, what if I just can't," he huffs, falls back onto the beach with his arms spread. His wings are hiked up against his back and the different position makes this almost bearable. "What if I won't ever be able to?"

Lance sighs, shimmies up Keith's body until he's lying on top of him. His tail is damp against his legs and getting water on his pants. He's heavy.

"You're heavy," he grumps, but curls his arm around Lance and tugs him closer.

"Rude," Lance huffs. He tucks his head under Keith's chin.

Keith can feel him start playing with the small pearl that's threaded through cord around his neck in gentle pulls and light fiddling. It was a gift from the very person touching it and he's never taken it off.

"Have you even tried?" Lance asks quietly.

Keith hums, raises his hand and puts it on top of Lance's head. He runs his fingers through the sea-salted strands and works out the stiffness until its baby soft again. "The last time I tried, Shiro had to swoop down and catch me," he admits.

"How long ago was that?" Lance questions.

Keith's heart starts to pound just thinking about it. The sharp plummet, the terror of not getting any lift, his body dropping like a stone right to the hard earth. Lance makes a concerned noise in his throat and tries to sit up but Keith puts his other hand over the side of Lance's head, starts curling his body towards him. He shifts in the sand and pulls Lance into an embrace. He flexes his scapula and his wing stretches over them, covers the two of them and they're ensconced in its shadow. He curls against Lance, his arms wrapping around him. "Over a century ago," he confesses. Here, he feels safe. Feels like he can say anything. Can reveal himself in the most vulnerable way.

And he knows that Lance will gently take his insecurities and comfort him.

Lance's hand slides up his spine, the pads of his fingers smooth and cool against his skin. They press into the valley of his shoulders, rubs small circles at where his wings sprout from. "Do you know how long it took me to get my legs?" He asks suddenly.

Keith shakes his head. He pulls Lance tighter against him, presses his stomach to Lance's. His tail, ever the traitor, slithers from behind him and wraps itself around Lance's, circles around his blue scales, starts to undulate slowly.

"It took over a year," he tells him. "'Lura was getting so frustrated," he chuckles as he remembers.

"What happened?"

Slowly, Keith feels the change, feels his tail fall out of the curl of Lance's. Feels the heat of Lance's skin against the leather underside and he redoubles his efforts and wraps his tail around Lance's leg.

"I thought about you, about being able to walk with you. Beside you. See the things that you can, up here, on the land."

Keith's chest squeezes and he buries his face into Lance's chest. His breath leaves him in a heavy rush, "Oh."

Lance chuckles. "Yeah," and he gives a small shrug.

Lance runs his fingers through Keith's hair, gripping a little to tip his face back. "Hey," he urges. "What are you afraid of?"

Keith blinks, cuts his eyes away. "Falling," he admits.

Lance smiles suddenly, blindingly bright, his teeth straight and white. His lips pull thin as he grins ear to ear and his eyes disappear as they crinkle with his joy. "I have an idea," he says and pushes at Keith's wing over them. "Come on, get up," as he scrambles to his feet, reaching down and putting both hands in Keith's face. "Come on!" He repeats and he's laughing.

"Lance- what?" But he's sliding his hands into Lance's, being pulled to his feet. Lance pats at him to get the sand off and does the same to himself.

"We're going to a cliff," he announces as he starts dragging Keith along.

"What?" He asks again, more shrilly, digging his heels in but the sand isn't his friend. The ocean and its beaches are Lance's domain and it's always been out of his control.

"Listen, you're going to jump off a cliff into the ocean. And the worst thing that’s going to happen is that you’re going to get wet," he says, matter-of-factly.

"Did you also forget the part that I can't swim that well either?" he half-shouts, low key going into panic mode. "Lance!"

"I'll be watching you. I’ll be right there. You have nothing to worry about!"

And once Lance gets an idea in his head, it's hard to get it out of him.

Which is how Keith finds himself with his toes hanging over the side of a cliff. There's a soft bank of beach, no rocky shores and the water is dark enough to know that Keith won't slam his head against the inlet if he does crash and burn. He's a little comforted.

But it's still a long way from the top to the bottom.

"Hey," Lance says suddenly, pulling his attention away from the water. But when he turns he’s met with the ocean again, but now it's the endless depths of Lance's eyes. "Your body knows what it needs to do," he tells him softly. "It's all instinct," he says, winks, and takes a running leap off the cliff. Keith watches as Lance transforms half way in the air, his scales catching off the sun and he's a glittering sapphire before he plunges back into the ocean.

Keith peers over the edge and sees Lance's brown face looking up at him. He waves, cups his hands around his mouth. Shouts, "Don't worry! This is a completely foolproof plan!" he treads water with his tail and arm. "You got this!" like it’s so easy.

Keith blows air out of his mouth in a heavy stream, his cheeks puffing out.

He walks back several yards and looks at the sky, right to the edge of where the land ends and there's nothing but endless, empty space. He's going to fall, going to plummet straight to the bottom-

Keith shakes his head. Forces his feet to move before his mind can fully comprehend what his body is doing-

_Don't be scared. Lance will catch me, he always catches me-_

And Keith is falling, he's falling with the pit of his stomach rising up his throat-

_He's always there, making me strong, lifting me up-_

And his wings give one powerful beat, then another and then the wind is catching against the thin webbing of his wings and all he can hear is the deafening woosh of air and the sound of Lance's cheers. He flaps again and this time there's a spray of water as the updraft displaces the waves and all he can see is the deep blue of the ocean as its skimming under him-

"Keeeeith!"

And he looks down- Lance is right there, swimming under him, his tail powerful and strong. He has a pod of dolphins swimming with him, all of them breaking the surface as they race along.

Keith grins manically, pumps his wings and he's taking off, flying faster and soon he's leaving Lance behind.

He rises up into the air and in front of him, as far as his eyes can see, is blue- so blue that it's starting to hurt his chest.

He dives back down and spots Lance. He circles around and shouts, "Brace yourself!" and he cups his hands in the water. He flies straight at Lance and grabs under his arms, gripping tight. He pumps his wings and lifts them both into the air.

Lance yelps and soon he's cackling- shouting, laughing and Keith's laughing right along with him. Keith shifts Lance around, pulling a tanned arm around his neck, dipping his other arm to cup around the back of Lance’s tail so he's holding him steady. Keith can't get up too high, he realizes, they're a little too heavy, but he takes them as far up as he can.

His wings beat fiercely as he hovers.

"Holy Cosmos," he hears Lance breathe and Keith tucks his face into Lance's neck as he nods in agreement. He inhales deeply, smelling salt and Lance and the fresh ocean air. His chest- his heart, feels so full.

Keith takes them low, back over to the beach and he playfully drops Lance back into the water. Lance's shout gets cut off by his splash and he surfaces with a sputter.

He stalks up to the shore on his legs and sticks a finger in Keith's face. "You-"

"Thank you," Keith says.

Lance's irritated face immediately falls only to be replaced by a warm, happy smile. It grows huge on his face. "See? You did it!"

"Yeah," he says, reaching up to grab at Lance's still outstretched finger. He curls his hand around Lance's, presses his thumb to his pulse point. "Thank you," he says again. Something clicks and settles within him, deep seated and right. Natural. And with Lance by his side, he feels like he can do anything.

Keith shifts his shoulders, rolling them in a tight circle. He spreads his wings wide and re-folds them against his back.

His wings are growing and he can fly.

 

**Author's Note:**

> [go check out taytei's AU holy hells](http://taytei.tumblr.com/tagged/ancient%20au) (opens up in tumblr)
> 
> Also follow [my writing IG](https://www.instagram.com/rae.aaah/) so you can stay updated when I post! Dropping tidbits on To the North of Shadows and my s'mores boys WIP (which I never realized it would get that serious but ye gods we're at almost 6k words atm and I'm not even close to getting them together yet)


End file.
